NOTRE DAME, Ind. – No. 7 Notre Dame advanced to the round of 16 in the 2018 NCAA Championships on Sunday evening against Michigan by outlasting the Wolverines in an epic shootout, 11-10, in 12 rounds after finishing 0-0 through 110 minutes of play.
The Irish will welcome No. 10 Virginia to Alumni Stadium at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 25 with a spot in the NCAA Championships quarterfinals on the line.
HOW IT HAPPENED
The Irish and Wolverines played to a scoreless draw over the opening 45 minutes of action. Both sides created a number of quality chances but neither the Notre Dame nor Michigan were able to capitalize. The Irish looked to have earned a penalty in the 40th minute, as it appeared Jack Lynn was brought down by the Michigan goalkeeper but the referee decided otherwise.
The second half was just as cagey as the first, as chances were tough to come by for both teams and the match headed to extra time.
The best scoring opportunity came in the 100th minute with just seconds left in the first overtime period. Sophomore Aiden McFadden got loose on the right flank and cut into the box. The winger unleashed a shot at the near post but the Michigan keeper was up to it, making a diving save to send the match into a second overtime.
Neither side was able to produce the golden goal in the final 10 minutes of action and penalty kicks would decide whose season would continue.
Michigan went first in the shootout and the Wolverines and Irish both converted their first five attempts to send it to the sudden death rounds. Junior goalkeeper Duncan Turnbull produced a huge save on Michigan’s sixth attempt to give the Irish a chance to advance. However, Michigan’s Henry Mashburn was up for the challenge, as he answered with a diving save of his own to keep the visitor’s hopes alive.
Over the next five rounds Michigan and Notre Dame traded successful attempts to make the score 10-10 heading into the 12th round. Turnbull once again produced a brilliant diving save to put the Irish on the doorstep. Senior Felicien Dumas made no mistake about his attempt, blasting a shot into the back of the net sending the Irish players at midfield into a frenzy and into the round of 16.
HEAD COACH CHAD RILEY’S TAKE
On goalkeeper Duncan Turnbull’s performance…
“Duncan is playing really well. Defending corners is one of his strengths with his ability to come out and take corners that are in his area pretty comfortably. He gave us a chance in the shootout with a really nice save. I thought he had a really solid game.”
On the team’s mentality in a long penalty shootout…
“We talk so much this time of the year about mentality. Michigan is a good team and we knew they were going to make this game tough. They have some really special attacking players and our defense handled them well overall. We were focused and confident heading into the shootout and we had prepared for PKs so we knew we would be confident during that phase.”
STAT OF THE MATCH
With the clean sheet performance, the Irish defense has been nearly impenetrable over the last month. Notre Dame has allowed just one goal over its last five matches, spanning 490 minutes of play.
NOTES OF THE MATCH
- With the match officially ruled a draw, the Irish are 18-18-3 in the NCAA Championships in program history.
- Notre Dame is now 2-1 in shootouts in program history in NCAA Championship matches.
- The Irish have now reached the round of 16 on 10 occasions.
- The Irish are now 13-2-4 against the Wolverines in the all-time series, including 1-0-1 this season.
- Notre Dame recorded its eighth clean sheet of the season and has held the opposition to one or no goals in 15 of 19 matches.
- After holding Michigan to no goals in the first half, the Irish have now shut out the opposition in 18 of 19 first halves this season.
- Turnbull recorded his fifth clean sheet of the season and is 5-1-2 on the season.
UP NEXT
Notre Dame advances to the round of 16 and will face No. 10 Virginia at Alumni Stadium with a spot in the quarterfinals on the line at 5 p.m. ET on Sunday, Nov. 25. The match will air live on ACC Network Extra via the WatchESPN app.
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